The rise of the Daniffs

It is a common practice in Nigeria for breeders to mate different breeds for different purposes. The Daniff can be said to be a result from this practice. The name Daniff is not coined by Nigerians because there are many pictures of this mixed breed all over the internet.

One of our important clients called me one morning requesting for a Great Dane puppy to buy, I did my best to get one but the delay made him leave the idea temporarily. Eight months later he called me to show me a picture someone sent him of a dog called DANIFF. I scanned my brain for the name in my head but couldn’t find it in my brain archive so I just answered him with uncertainty. Just the next day another client walked into the clinic talking about his new dog, a breed called DANIFF. Someone in the clinic said: “Oh! Great Dane plus Mastiff – DANIFF”, that was when my head actually put things together to make sense of the name and from then onward I kept hearing about this mixed breed.

As you may know, Great Dane is a giant dog breed with smooth hair coat and some resemblance to the Mastiff from the jaw area. Mastiffs are mostly known for their muscular body conformation and broad head with great stamina.

Nigerians are mostly lovers of “BIG” dogs. I can remember someone asking me for a German Shepherd dog and the next question he asked me was: “Is the puppy big?” I must tell you that I keep getting that question over and over again.

Yes, Daniff may sound like the dog might turn out giant like the Great Dane and muscular with broad head like the Mastiff. Unfortunately, this is what most buyers of this dog in Nigeria believe when they are buying the puppies but after the dogs are grown, some buyers are happy while others are sad.

I write this article today to correct an impression that is being propagated by some ignorant puppy sellers.

There is no rule about what the puppy will inherit in terms of height and body shape because this Daniff came from two different breeds. Do not expect a broad head or height like the Great Dane because the dog is not a pure line and therefore will show only the dominant traits from either of the parents which means that when your Daniff becomes taller, it then means that the tall genes was able to dominate and the same applies to other physical traits.

If you google Daniff you will see dogs with different shapes and sizes, some of them looking very different from the other. This should help you get the gist I’m trying to pass across.